Million Dollar Arm

John Hamm (left) stars as sports agent J.B. Bernstein in Million Dollar Arm.

RatedPG

Release Date: May 16

Directed by Craig Gillespie

Starring Jon Hamm, Aasif Mandvi, Lake Bell, Alan Arkin

Million Dollar Arm tells the true-life story of sports agent J.B. Bernstein and the two baseball players he brings from India to the U.S. The biographical sports drama begins in 2007, when Bernstein is having trouble signing players. His business is struggling. So he heads to India in hopes of finding talented baseball players he can recruit for U.S. teams. Bernstein stages a reality show contest in India called the Million Dollar Arm, and he discovers two 18-year-old boys from remote villages who show promise with their pitching. He brings the boys to the U.S. with a goal of getting them signed to a major league team. After the boys arrive in America, Bernstein realizes he is responsible for more than just making a commission — he is responsible for them. “He learns how to be a better human being,” actor Jon Hamm, who stars as Bernstein, told Entertainment Weekly.

Did You Know?

The film shot in India for almost a month, often in 120-degree heat. Cows and large crowds were a constant presence on set. The intense conditions gave Hamm some insight into what Bernstein had gone through. “Once you see India, you see what J.B. met with on day one,” Hamm told Entertainment Weekly. “If it were me, I would have been like, ‘Nope, this is never going to happen.”